2012 Winter X Games

The 2012 Winter X Games came to a close today, and, as predicted, no one even knew it was on. If you can believe it, the 'X' in X Games means the sports in which the athletes compete are extreme. To that end, both the Summer and Winter X Games feature a multitude of adrenaline pumping, motor revving, energy drink drinking activities that challenge competitors and viewers alike to stick it out. This year Shaun White (USA), Torah Bright (AUS) and Halldor Helgason (ISL) are among the many names that no one has ever heard of. With the Women's Figure Skating National Championships and Novak Djokovic's striptease to focus on, it's no surprise that the interest in the X Games has been X-hausted. That's right, folks, we're doing extreme puns now.

On a serious note, this year a good deal more attention has been paid to this year's Winter X Games due to the death of Canadian skier and X Games multi-gold medal winner, Sarah Burke. While training in Utah, Burke fell and hit her head and went into cardiac arrest on the slopes. She was airlifted to a hospital where, on January 19th, she was overcome by her injuries and passed away. Unfortunately, her life insurance policy did not cover this particular event. In order to cover the massive hospital bills accrued during her 9 day stay at the University of Utah Hospital, Burke's family opened a website to accept donations from her fans and concerned onlookers. Burke was instrumental in the addition of the superpipe skiing event to the 2014 Winter Olympics roster. At the very least, her legacy will live on.